Women Who Know Another Kind of Arithmetic

By Liu Yong

At his elementary school reunion, the boy who once had very poor grades surprised his classmates when they learned he had become a famous medical doctor. He taught everyone how to calculate their cholesterol. The funny thing was, the men there understood right away, but the women were all confused.

“It is not your fault.” The now famous doctor waved his hand and said, “Because women are born with poor arithmetic skills.”

To his dismay, this pronouncement caused a roar of dissention from the women in the house; all of their eyes were wide with anger, a few rushed over to confront him.

“Who says women are bad at math? You should know that we are born better than men.” An outraged woman complained.

“True.” Another immediately agreed. “Do you remember each of your children’s birthdays? Do you remember what hour, what minute, they were born? Do you remember your own wedding anniversary?”

The doctor didn’t back down.“Of course I remember.”

“Ok, we’ll take your word that you can remember these. But do you remember when your wife’s period started last month? And what day her period will come next time?” A brav grl skd.

開小學同學會，一位當年功課爛透、現在卻成為名醫的男生，教大家計算膽固醇的方法。妙的是，男生一聽就會了，女生卻都沒搞懂。

“不能怪你們，”名醫手一揮，“女人天生數學就差。”

沒想到，半句話得罪了一屋子女生，個個杏眼圓睜，還有幾個女生沖了過來。

“誰說我們女人數學差？告訴你，我們天生比男人好。”一個女生首先發難。

“是啊。”立刻有人附和，“你記得你每個孩子的生日嗎？你記得他們幾點幾分生的嗎？你又記得你的結婚紀念日嗎？”

醫生也不示弱：“我記得。”

“好，就算記得。你記得你老婆上個月的例假是幾號、下次會哪天來嗎？”有位大膽的女生追問。

這下子，女生有得說了：

“We’ve been counting this every month from the age of twelve, and we remember it all.”

“We know when the safe period will be.”

“We can count which day a child will be born after the 283-day pregnancy.”

“We can track the time our children get home.”

“We can sense the reason our husbands come home just a half hour late, and if it’s because of an affair.”

“Our arithmetic is better than that of men. Our arithmetic can measure the humanity of men.”

This reminded me of a special program I watched on PBS television in the United States.It told the story of a group of pioneers who set out from the east coast hundreds of years ago,and planned to migrate across the North American continent to California.

But the winter came before they could reach California. They lost their way in a big snow storm.

They set up their tents, burned the wood in the caravans, and ate the animals that were pulling carts. The women waited inside with the children while men went out to find food, directions and help.

The men went in batches and died in the wilderness. Later the older boys also sought to escape,but failed and froze to death.Only a few women and children,chewing tree bark, eating boots and blankets, survived the ordeal.

Since the ancient times, every hunter’s hut must face toward the mountains. Every fisherman’s hut must face the sea. And there must be a waiting woman in the hut,looking out at the mountains and seas outside the window.

Every pelting sleet of snow,every tempestuous ocean wave,every howl of beast, tore at the hearts of these women. They all thought and counted: when will their beloved return?

“When will the war be over;when will my husband be home?”

“My heart cries until the time my beloved returns.”

“Knowing the tide is ever predictable, better I should have married a seaman!”

Every time I read these ancient poems, I picture a woman waiting for her lover’s return to her embrace.

So many women, waiting endlessly, month by month, year after year, getting old, love fading,hope lost, until youthful passion ultimately turns to aged cold stone.

Women are all good at arithmetic, it is just different from men’s. They calculate their children’s birthdays with their emotion; they calculate the years of marriage with their loving moments; they calculate their husband’s return with love and use their ideals to calculate their own fates.

(FromAll Right and Wrong Is for Love, Baihuazhou Literature and Art Publishing House.Translation: Huilan)

“我們從十二三歲起就每個月都在記、都在算。”

“我們會算安全期。”

“我們會算兩百八十三天，孩子哪天生。”

“我們會算孩子是不是該到家了。”

“我們會算老公今天晚半個小時進門，是不是出去搞鬼。”

“我們的算術天生比男人棒，只是棒得不一樣。”

這使我記起在美國PBS電視臺看過的一個特別節目，講述幾百年前，一群拓荒者由東岸出發，打算橫穿北美大陸，移民到加州的樂土。

但是還沒到加州，冬天就來了，他們遇上少有的風雪，迷了路。

他們搭起帳篷，燒盡篷車里的木料，吃光拉車的牲口，一群婦人守著孩子在里面等候，男人出去找食物、找道路、找援救。

但是男人們一批批去，一批批凍死在路上。后來連大一點的男孩子都出去了，也沒逃過凍死的命運。唯有少數婦人和孩子，啃樹皮，吃靴子、毛毯，熬到最后。

自遠古以來，每個獵人的小屋，必定都向著山；每個漁人的小屋，必定都對著海。

那小屋里也必然都有守候的婦人，望著窗外的山林與海洋。

每一陣雨雪、獸嗥與狂風巨浪，都牽扯著這些女人的心。她們一定都在想、都在算：出門的你，該歸來了……

“何日平胡虜，良人罷遠征。”

“當君懷歸日，是妾斷腸時。”

“早知潮有信，嫁與弄潮兒。”

每次讀到這些古人的詩句，眼前就浮現出一個倚門遠眺的身影。

只是多少身影，守著守著，月月年年，就此老去，就此凋零，就此凝固，凝固成望夫崖，凝固成一個癡情女子變成一塊巉巖的神話。

女人是長于算術的，只是跟男人的算法不一樣。她們用親情計算孩子的生日，用戀情計算結婚的歲月，用愛情計算丈夫的歸期，用理想計算自己的年齡。